Syracuse's inaugural Empire State Marathon will be Heather Szuba's first

Frank Ordonez/The Post-StandardHeather Szuba was the first person to register for the inaugural Empire State Marathon.

In case you were wondering, Heather Szuba is No. 1.

The Skaneateles woman, who will be 27 on Oct. 16, was the first person to register for the inaugural Empire State Marathon that takes place in Syracuse that day.

It will be her first marathon.

"It wasn't going to be. I planned to run one in late spring, but once I heard about that one, I thought I ought to make it my first," Szuba says.

Race director, Brian Collins says Szuba was the first person to sign up when registration began on Nov. 1, and she'll be rewarded with a bib bearing the No. 1. Since she was one of the first 50 people to register, she paid a discounted fee of $60.

Register by Dec. 25 for $70 for the marathon, or $60 for the half marathon, or $200 for a four-person relay.

Collins says 239 people, from five states, have signed up so far. "We blew past 100 entries in less than a day, which is impressive," he says. "My Valley of the Sun Marathon (in Phoenix, Ariz.), which was 3,000 the first year, did not hit that number until three months out from the race, and we are 11 months out."

MARATHON DETAILS

Fee: Sign up by Dec. 25 for $70 for the full 26.2-mile marathon, or $60 for the 13.1-mile half. The price goes up by $10 after that until March 1, and another $5 after that until July 4. Wait until the day before the event, and the price is $100 for the marathon, or $80 for the half. The four-person relay is $200.

"I've only been doing this consistently for a year or so, maybe a little less than that. In the beginning of that was a lot of treadmill running. It's only the last six or eight months that I've been running outside."

She said living in Skaneateles and commuting to Syracuse for work left her little time for exercise. Her boyfriend, Paul Carlson suggested she work out at lunchtime. So she began running on a treadmill at work, until a friend suggested she run outdoors instead. She pushed aside bad memories of running during high school and soon found running to be therapeutic.

"It's not my primary reason for existing, but I do go out every day at lunch. And then I try to get in a long run on the weekend. I'm not diehard; I'm not getting up at 4 a.m. every day to make sure I get my run in," she says.

Fleet Feet Sports consultants recently fitted her with a lightweight Brooks running shoe to help her mild over-pronation. Her feet tend to roll inward as she runs.